Surviving The Assault on Private Sector Careers in America

Trump’s New Apprentice Proves Rule #1 of Promotionology

Okay, I admit it, I do watch the Apprentice, and in fact I’m hooked. I know it’s all a big sham. Trump plays the pompous power broker, shamelessly plugs sponsors, and now he’s dragging his two kids into the act! But it does provide insights into the extreme measures today’s young people will take to advance their careers.

Last night I was editing Lesson 7:Promotionology; The Art of the Raise, and I realized that Trump’s newest apprentice, Stephani, exemplifies my first rule of Promotionology – Always Be The Least Hated Candidate for any given promotion. She “flew under the radar” all season and then somehow rose to the top of the class in the final few weeks. I never even noticed she existed until she presented the marketing plan for Trump Towers in Las Vegas!

Anyway, the reality show format really proves my point regarding promotions. People will go out of their way to sabotage coworkers who threaten their upward ascent and willingly accept nonthreatening candidates as their new bosses. Stephani even mentioned this in her final plea for the job. She said “no one ever said anything negative about me in the boardroom”. But enough about silly reality TV shows – here’s what I wrote for Career Secret Sauce.

The First Rule of Promotionology

Most promotions go to the person who the team hates the least as their new boss. Why did I say hates the least versus likes the most? Very few people like the idea of a new boss, unless it’s them! And when a former peer becomes the new boss, most people get really emotional, and often when companies promote from within and that’s exactly what happens. The classic reaction to discovering that a former peer is your new boss is to update your resume and look for a new job.However, some peer promotions are less traumatic than others. The best way to get promoted is to establish yourself as the least controversial candidate. Simply put, your goal is to be the last one standing when your peers mentally eliminate all of the other people on the team they would hate to work for.

There are a number of ways to become the least hated future boss. Chances are you’ll be competing with ambitious people for ever promotion. Most ambitious people are obsessed with themselves; the things they’re working on or have accomplished. They think it’s a waste of time to study the work of coworkers, let alone complement their efforts. Don’t be like them. Develop a habit of publicly recognizing everyone around you for the good work they do. You’ll instantly separate yourself from the pack of self-obsessed ambitious coworkers and make a lot of friends. This doesn’t mean be a kiss-up. It just means pay attention to what others are going and don’t be afraid to acknowledge someone else’s good work. If someone comes up with a clever way of doing something, ask them about it. In staff meetings, remind other team members about the good work of others. And here is the key – spread it around. If you simply hurdle praise on the top performers, you’re just fueling their egos. They don’t need your praise and you may be inadvertently signally your boss that you’d be willing to report to them. But if you go the extra mile to recognize the lesser-appreciated members of the team, you’ll win more hearts and minds than you can imagine. They will trust you more than those around you and your boss will appreciate your contribution to the overall morale of the team.

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One Response

I just watched the finale recorded on my TiVo before I read your blog post, and I could not agree with you more. On top of bringing skills to the table, it’s important to treat coworkers with respect and be a positive force on the team. Stephani is the epitome of the least hated coworker. It seems “slipping under the radar” is definitely the way to go!